WEST BROMWICH ALBION U-18s 2
NEWCASTLE UNITED U-18s 0
Premier Academy League
Saturday, March 15, 2008

 

UNITED'S Academy youngsters were punished for a poor performance in the Midlands as West Bromwich notched a goal in each half to take the points.

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The Magpies' ambitious 3-5-2 system, with Dan Leadbitter and Alex Patterson in wing-back roles, brought a bright start without creating any goalscoring chances.

And after Albion took the lead against the run of play in the 23rd minute, the home side took over and controlled the rest of the match.

The opening goal was a defensive disaster for United.

Centre-back Alex Francis at first tried to let a long ball run through to goalkeeper Ole Soderberg, then, realising it would not carry, attempted to lay it back from 15 yards for the Swedish keeper to clear.

However, the pass put the keeper under pressure from Dwayne Samuels and when the ball bobbled at the vital moment Soderberg's scuffed right-foot clearance presented Samuels with a simple tap-in.

Soderberg redeemed himself with a superb 35th-minute save, diving full-length to his right to tip a 12-yard Ricky Nicholls from a Samuels cross shot onto the post and behind.

United coach Kenny Wharton reverted to 4-4-2 at the interval, bringing on midfielders Brad Inman and Jeff Henderson for Dan Leadbitter and Kieran Wrightson and dropping Patterson back into an orthodox left-back slot, but there was no significant improvement.

And on the hour Albion doubled their lead as they caught United napping at a free-kick.

From the set-piece on the right of the United penalty area, Nicholls shaped to shoot then slipped a clever ball past the left edge of the defensive wall for centre-forward Stefan Morrison to turn James Taylor and hammer a rising shot past Soderberg from 12 yards.

Inman went into the book for a foul and United's only glimpse of goal in the final half-hour came on 77 minutes when Mark Bertram's free-kick was missed by defender Ashley Holmes but Ryan Donaldson on the six-yard line was taken by surprise and the ball rebounded off his midriff into the arms of keeper Gavin Carlin.

WEST BROMWICH U-18s: Carlin, Pike, Martin, McCormack, Hancox (sub Mason 61), Holmes, Knight (sub Siead 75), Samuels (sub Worral 75), Morrison, Lake-Gaskin, Nicholls.
Subs not used: Labadie, Lloyd-Weston.

NEWCASTLE UNITED U-18s: Soderberg, Leadbitter (sub Henderson 45), Francis, Taylor, Grieve, Patterson, Bertram, Wrightson (sub Inman 45), Bath, Donaldson, Neary.

Referee: Edward Smart.